(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Brattleboro, Vermont - Sept. 8, 2010 - The Organic Trade Association (OTA), which has called Greenfield, MA, home since 1990, today is celebrating the upcoming move of its headquarters to the Graduate Center building in downtown Brattleboro planned for later this fall.

“This move by the Organic Trade Association to Vermont is a testament to the importance of organic agriculture in our state and the leadership and entrepreneurial spirit found here. I have long worked with the Organic Trade Association in Washington on organic policy matters and am delighted it has chosen Vermont as its home base and to bring these jobs to Brattleboro,” said Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. Leahy, now the second most senior member of the U.S. Senate, often is called the ‘father of organic’ because as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee he wrote and passed the Organic Foods Production Act as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. In 2009 he was the first recipient of OTA’s Public Servant Award that recognizes individuals in government who have played key roles in organic agriculture and trade policies.

“Marlboro College Graduate Center’s state-of-the-art facility in downtown Brattleboro will provide a nice complement to OTA’s Washington, D.C., office,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director and CEO. She added, “It is exciting to be moving to Vermont, well respected for its interest and support for organic agriculture, sustainability, and green initiatives, particularly at this time when OTA is marking its 25th anniversary, and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Organic Foods Production Act.”

In fact, despite its size, Vermont is among the leaders of organic agriculture in the United States. According to the 2008 Organic Production Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Vermont ranked tenth of all the states in the amount of organic farms. Meanwhile, its farms’ 2008 organic sales, at nearly $73 million, placed Vermont in eighth position in organic sales by state.

The Vermont Economic Progress Council has approved up to $86,300 in Vermont Employment Growth Incentives to enable OTA to move its operations, including membership acquisition and retention, public relations, marketing, regulatory review and tracking, support services for legislative activities and administration of USDA and other grants, to Vermont instead of remaining in Massachusetts or consolidating these operations in Washington, D.C.

The Graduate Center building already houses a USDA service center serving all of Windham County. That office includes the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural Development, and Windham County Conservation District.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the non-profit membership-based business association for the organic industry in North America whose mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy (www.ota.com). OTA represents businesses across the organic supply chain and addresses all things organic, including food, fiber and textiles, personal care products, and new sectors as they develop.

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